Learning Machine: The Uncertain Future of Education

On this week's episode we interview Michael Cohen, the Tech Rabbi. Michael is both a designer and an educator, as well as the author of the recent book Educated by Design, which outlines methods for bringing design thinking and creativity into the classroom - Michael is a big fan of creativity.  Our conversation started from the recognition that the promise of technology in education has not always been the reality for students on the ground, but moved to consider the ways in which the democratization of education is being propelled by the students and teachers make real use of tech in the classroom. Nathan, Raven, and Sam debate the question: Has the impact of technology been slower in education than on other sectors of society? Join us and reddit, twitter, or instagram to continue the conversation!

For more information about our guest, visit his website at www.thetechrabbi.com - you can also follow Michael on twitter: @TheTechRabbi.  To learn how to help support the podcast, visit our website at www.learningmachinepodcast.com 

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Teachers are bring tech into the classroom more than every before, but if those tech tools aren't designed for the reality and context of all students - can they really be effective? 

On this week's episode we speak with Professor Martin Oliver, Pro-Director for Academic Development at the University College of London’s Institute of Education. During our conversation, Martin explained that choosing effective tech tools for learning is less about choosing the most cutting edge options, and more about optimizing technology choices to the real context of students’ lives. That, in the trade off between efficiency and equity, equity considerations often lead to the most effective outcomes.

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What is it about a simple undo button that fills young students with confidence? How can technology support diverse methods of assessment and create space for everyone to have a voice?

On this week's episode we discuss Flipgrid and the impact of technology on equity in education with Ann Kozma.  Ann loves to encourage others to “push all the buttons” as they use Flipgrid to empower learners of all ages to share their voices and respect the diverse voices of others. She has spent 20+ years dedicated to transforming education as a 1st grade classroom teacher, as a K-8 Innovation & Instructional Support Teacher on Special Assignment in Southern California, and now as an Educator Innovation Lead on Team Flipgrid at Microsoft. Ann is passionate about helping others share, celebrate and showcase authentic voices in the classroom and beyond. Connect with her on social at @annkozma723.

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Flipping your classroom means swapping the work typically done at home with the instruction typically done in the classroom. Teachers use videos to introduce content to students at home and then use the in-class time for asking questions, applying skills, and individualized instruction.

In this episode, we discuss with classroom flipping expert Mandy Rice who is a classroom flipping expert with more than 10 years of experience.
She has a teacher support business "Teach On A Mission" and her online course, Flipped Classroom Formula, where thousands of teachers have gone from the center of their classroom and exhausted every day to the ultra-effective guide-on-side who still has energy for their family when they leave work.

Here is the link to a starter kit that listeners can grab for free: https://www.teachonamission.com/starterkit

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For two years during the pandemic, many classrooms went virtual. What have we learned about the pros and cons of virtual classrooms during that time? We are joined by education expert Dr. Andreina Parisi-Amon from Engageli as we discuss virtual classrooms for a virtual world.

To find out more about our podcast, visit us at www.learningmachinepodcast.com

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Learning Machine is a podcast about the uncertain future of education, and this season, season three, is our EdTech season. We want to know how technology is transforming the classroom, for better - and for worse.  Join us each episode for conversations with experts in the EdTech arena, from teachers, to researchers, to CEOs, and join us online to discuss our weekly debate topic. 

To find out more about our podcast, visit us at www.learningmachinepodcast.com

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That's a wrap for season 2! We have learned a lot about Critical Race Theory and Culturally Responsive Teaching this season from all of our education experts. In this episode, we reflect on where we started, what we learned, and how far we still have to go as a country when it comes to addressing educational equity. We also look forward to season 3 where we will be focusing on the disruptive world of educational technology.

Thanks for listening!

All episodes can be found at www.learningmachinepodcast.com
Follow us on Twitter: @LearningMachin3
Follow us on Instagram: LearningMachine0101

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Our guest this week is Tanishia Williams, a Critical Race Theory Research Associate at The African American Policy Forum, a Ph.D. candidate in Urban Policy, and an educator for twenty-two years.  In this interview, she reflects on transitioning from her previous role as a school educator and administrator into her new role as an educational researcher, and how those different positions have shaped her beliefs about student support and educational equity.  Tanishia comes to the topic from different perspectives in a way that is helpful for the three of us to reflect on our own power to shape education. 

www.learningmachinepodcast.com 

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How do our biases shape the way that we think about numbers? Is data ever an unbiased source of truth? Dr. Wendy Castillo joins us on this episode to talk about these issues and the work she is doing to promote #Data4SocialJustice. We discuss the tenets of Quantitative Critical Race Theory (QuantCrit) and spend some time investigating our own biases about education.

Homework:
Write your own positionality statement acknowledging the personal biases you carry with you and how those might impact your production and consumption of data.

Follow Dr. Wendy Castillo on Twitter @WCastilloPhD

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If we won the fight around CRT, what would we be winning? This is the question Freddie deBoer asks in his article, CRT could use a little cost/benefit analysis - and his argument is compelling. As the political and cultural left struggles to clearly define CRT - and even in some cases to admit that it’s having an influence in American schools - deBoer points out that there are concrete programs and initiatives that would have a bigger impact for students in the classroom. He issues a clear and important challenge to those - like the three of us on this podcast - who believe that CRT is a powerful academic tool that can help to inform educational policy: What are we defending? For what benefit? And - at what cost? 

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